Julia Anne Rhea

ADRIAN--Julia Anne Rhea, a long-time resident of Adrian, died of natural causes on Sunday, September 14, 2014. She was 101 years of age. Mrs. Rhea was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Rufus Franklin Rhea, Sr., who passed away on September 14, 1962. Julia Anne Ray was born April 29, 1913, in Union Springs, Alabama, the sixth of eleven children. In 1939, she graduated from Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, Alabama, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education. On May 11, 1940, while employed as a school teacher in Macon, Georgia, she married Mr. Rhea, who was the principal of the local African American high school. Mr. and Mrs. Rhea moved to Adrian, Michigan, in the early 1940s. For the next 70 years, Mrs. Rhea was a member of, and a volunteer for, numerous civic organizations in Adrian. She was a life-long member of the First Baptist Church of Adrian, serving in various committee and educational capacities. Among her other commitments were The Christian Family Centre, the Veterans of Foreign Wars Ladies Auxiliary, the American Association of University Women, and the Ladies of the Red Hat Society. Her personal avocation was gardening for which she received several awards. After the death of her husband, Mrs. Rhea was employed as a teacher and counselor at the former Girls State Training School in Adrian. Upon her retirement in 1983, she became an active participant in the Michigan State Employee Retirees Association. She received the prestigious Martin Luther King Award from the local chapter of NAACP in 1999.. Mrs. Rhea was preceded in death by her daughter June A. Rhea, who was an elementary school teacher in Adrian and Lansing, Michigan respectively. She is survived by her son, Rufus F. Rhea, Jr., of Adrian; daughter, Jennifer A. Junior of Troy, Michigan; granddaughter, Katrina Rhea of Ferndale, Michigan; grandson, Rufus Rhea III of Adrian; granddaughter, Joy Junior of Troy, Michigan; granddaughter, Jean Junior of Boston, Massachusetts; stepdaughter, Barbara Jean Hagler of San Francisco, California; daughters of Mrs. Hagler and step-granddaughters of Mrs.Rhea, Tijanna Odette Eaton and Kyra Yasmin Hagler. Mrs. Rhea is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews. Visitation will be at the Wagley Funeral Home in Adrian on Friday, September 19, 2014, 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Services will be at the Wagley Funeral Home on Saturday, September 20, 2014, commencing at 10:00 a.m. Following services, burial will be at Oakwood Cemetery in Adrian. In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Julia Anne Rhea may be made to the Hospice of Lenawee, Lenawee County Department on Aging, or the American Cancer Society. Envelopes will be available at the funeral home.

Julia Anne Rhea

April 29, 1913 - September 14, 2014